It seems as if Chris Cornell’s death had a terribly effect on Chester Bennington. The Linkin Park singer’s alleged suicide was eerily similar to how the Soundgarden frontman killed himself.

If the death of Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington caused flashbacks to Chris Cornell’s suicide, there may be a reason for that. While not all of the details behind the Linkin Park singer’s death have come to light, law enforcement sources have told TMZ that the Chester and Chris died in similar fashion. Chester, 41, was reportedly found hanging from a door separating his bedroom from his closet on July 20, according to TMZ, almost mimicking the way Chris, 52, was found on May 18. After playing a Soundgarden show in Detroit, Chris died in his hotel room after hanging himself on a door separating his bedroom from the bathroom.

Additionally, sources claim that Chester was supposedly found with a belt around his neck. Chris was discovered with an exercise band around his throat. Both Chris and Chester didn’t leave a suicide note, according to TMZ. If this connection couldn’t get any more heartbreaking, Chester reportedly killed himself on what would have been Chris Cornell’s 53rd birthday. This is utterly heartbreaking, and with each new update, it seems that Chris’s death had cast a shadow from which Chester could not escape.

Chester and Chris had been friends for over a decade. The Linkin Park singer was even godfather to one of Chris’s children, Christopher Nicolas. When Chris killed himself, Chester shared a heart-wrenching message to his friend online. “I can’t imagine a world without you in it,” he wrote. “Thank you for allowing to be part of your life.” He would say his final good-byes to the Soundgarden singer by performing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” at Chris’s funeral.

“The Cornell family is overwhelmed by the heartbreaking news about Chester Bennington which tragically comes so soon after their family’s own loss,” a Cornell family spokesperson said after Chester’s death, according to the Chicago Tribune. “They open up their loving arms to Chester’s family and share in the sorrow with all those who loved him.”

Could have Chris’s death caused Chester to kill himself? Dr. Ronald Williams Maris, a suicide expert, EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife.com that suicide is “contagious” and that Chris and Chester’s lifestyles were pretty similar. “A lot [of] emotion, a lot of impulse, and a lot of drugs being on the road.” It’s possible that the echoes of Chris’s death may have driven Chester, a man troubled by his own self-destructive desires, to do the unthinkable.

Our thoughts continue to go out to Chris and Chester’s families as they continue to deal with their heartbreaking losses.